The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1887-03-20
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
Curious "Reminiscences of Bccchcr.
Special Corrcspondcncc.1
Nrw YOpE March ~ 1897

lnc newspapers ot tue country have pretty
we'll exhausted the ancient aud oft-uscd anco-
dotcs, true ones and uncertain ones, of the late
Henry Ward Bccchcr. The National Press In
telligence Company, Of this city, 70 my knowl
edge, has made collections for four different
subscribers OF the editorials, Incidents and
anecdotes which have appeared thus far In the
American newspapers The aggregate is over
5000, and half the country and all Europe is
vet to be heard from. l have had occasion to
look at great many of these anecdotes and in
cidents, aud the many ways in which the same
story is told or ventilated will greatly amusc
Mr., Bcechcr, II he sees them have seen few
that are new, so | am tempted To tell some
within my own keeping, one Of which Mr.
Beecher forbade me TO tell ns long ns he lived
That glorious enthusias, and lover of his race
John Swinton, whom to know, and to recognize
the ilcrcencss with which he hates wrong, Is to
love, made the statement in his paper last week
that he had attended Bcecher's trial ON the
Tilton suit every day Of Its continuance, heard
the testimony Of every witness aud the speeches
Of every lawyer aud when all was over left the
courtroom wholly unconvnced that Bcccher
was guilty. This is not as positive language ns
John Swlnton usually employs--nor us vigorous
II would have been more like John Swinon of
old, as have known him for eighteen years.
TO have said that he was convinced that the
whole suit was a ID conspiracy Of black
mailers using "A crazy woman--crazy once q
mouth, at lcast-for their purposes For that
was what II all amounted to. and nothing more.
Beechcr has gone to rest, beloved and mourucd
Of all.except Charles A. Dana. Moulton,
one of the conspirators. after robblng the Gov
crnment and breaking up great and honor
able firm, OF which he was the junior and
rascally partner, has gone to his reward
dying miserable death from a disease which
had long before disagured his face and cncr.
vatcd his whole body. Tiltou, the other con
spirator, is leading miserable life in Paris,
posing as picturesque loafcr and living of the
bounty of an infatuated woman. And the poor.
miserable little woman whom they used, who
spent the few days Of her monthly insanity In
accusing Beecher and all the rest OF the month
in retracting her charges--she has gone no.
body seems to know where, or TO care. Not
paper has investigated her present condition or
whereabouts.
], too, sat through the whole of the Bcechcr
trial. and personally edited for the New York
Tribune, of which was then the city editor.
every word of testimony and of argument dur
ing that whole six months Of talk, talk. talk |!
Too much association with lawyers and far too
much employment of some VI them, has made
me pretty familiar with law; and after all this
examination came to the conclusion that there
never was any adultery with Mrs. Tilton. and
II there was any indiscrction whatever COM
mitted, IT was with the principal female wit
ness--and that was shown by her own evidence,
which nobody who heard 1t believed. But there
wasn't any adultery. Beecher cared nothing
at all for women, except those Of his own
family. and having seen a good denl of his
home life, will add that l never saw more
great inndel, Robert e. Ingersoll
was telling Mr.. Beec6er one day of the
great intellectual treat had hnd the night
"Yes," Mr.. Beechcr said, "Ingersol has a grcai
intellect, but he Is also great religious enthu
siast-'gone wrong His religious feeling Il
very deep: II is based upon the grand idea OF
the love Of fellow but, though Bob argues
that Jesus was only mortal, and admits that ht
was good and great man, he doesn't trnir
himself to love Jesus"
After the conclusion of the long trial the
papers used to send reporters every Sunday
. noon and eve. to report Beecher's sermons, ex
pecting him to refer TO his troubles used tt
send the brightest shorthand man on tn,
Tribune staff--George E. Miles. now the pri
yatc secretary Of Coils p Huntington. of th,
,, Pacific Central Railroad-and the first question
Plymouth Church was. 'What did the old maj
+ talk about?" "Oh, the love of Christi wa
almost invariably the reply of Miles. And th,
irreyerent night editor would respond: "Hnl
, column for the love of Christ; two pages fol
the hate of Titon.'' donot believe it was /,
, the nature Of Beecher to hate--not even Til
, ton-no not even Moulton. It is any odds t,
nothing that II Moulton has looked up and seel
: Beacher in Abraham's bosom and asked for
, drop of water Beecher has pleaded that he b
,, given glass Of icewater with stick in il.
His incapacity for hate was finely illustrate
by an incident of which was PERSONAL
aware, and which he forbade me to tell Will
Q he lived. One OF the women witnesses IN, tn
g trial had testified to some unexpected thing
. damaging to Beecher, and the lawyers wer
4 somewhat puzzled as to what line to pursue 1
8 cross-examining her. AT the adjournment til
- several lawyers and Mr.. Beecher went to tn
. Brooklyn Club for lunch and was present b
previous invitation. The line of cross-e1
i, animation was discussed, and one lawyer NOR
indignant than tho rest at the evident perjur
! OF the woman, suggested that her character b
y attacked. Mr.. Bcecher instantly spoke u
with considerable warmth, mud said "If an
\ other woman than Elizabeth Tilton is to b
smirched In this miserable business, vii
G abandon my defense. II must not he done !.
1 And II was not.
Everybody has un idea that Charles A. Dana
= editor Of the Sun, cordially hated Mr.. Beechel
and that Beechcr dctested Dana. The editor &
the Sun has the fine virtue Of loving his friend
4 and hating. his enemies with equal cordinit,
g but ! doubt that the 81, editorials abol
= old Willard Bartlett, and the hatred seems I
u have descended from sire to son That Beeche
l. had no feeling against Dana is shown by lei
ter in the possession Of Douglns Taylor, of th
city. Taylor was getting up dinner 0f th
l. Typothata Society, and asked Beechcr {
d speak. He sent hin n list Of the toasts, name
k Whitelaw Reid and Charles A. Dana (the
: bitter encmies) as distinguished guests, an
asked Mr. Beecher whom Of all the guests h
n acterstic letter to dear Doug" Saying thl
= he might assign him any toast that nobody els
wanted, and that he would like to eli betwee
i, Reid and Dana, so as TO keep peace betwee
u them aud get acquainted with hem
u Beecher was,ve fond Of jewelry of ever
:. sort. He used to often go into the store ,
y Thomas Kirkpatrick aud rlinmage over hi
l. whole stock for hours at time. Kirkpatric
is equally fond of precious stones, and thoup
he knew that Beecher was not likely 10 obi b,i
anything, he delighted In bringing out ever,
thing he thought the old man would admir-
Sometimes Mr. Beecher would select some rar
:. stone or odd setting and put y In his poke
you want your money just worry me, wori
4 me-" "TOm," as everybody calls him, usual
l. forgot 10 charge 1t, and seldom ''worricd" him
One more story and am done. A short tin
% before the first publication Of the Moulton, TT
ton, and Beecher statements which precetle
the trial had occasion to publish the facts r.
e; E, garding alleged frauds on tho Government /
Woodruff & Robinson, Of which firm Moulto
was the junior partner. The article was bnse
r upon the statements Of II discharged employ
d who had turned informer and of professions
informcr who was the special agent that mac
4 the seizure OF the FIRMS books. I was not vii
u ing publish charges thus founded witho,
giving the firm an opportunity Of telling the
i side OF the story, and sent TO them for the
l. version Moulton called ON me In respons
and begged that the story be not published, b,
n "Would you publish the aflldavits of strlimpc
like these informers 7" he asked IN an ins,iliir
u manner. Ireplied that did not care to dscu
the matter any further, and opened the door (,
' him 10 pass out, lie repeated the question
T. would, II they were true and had news In then
: | will publish, II you will give 1t to me-"
I'd added quickly, "the confession you extortt
u. from Harry Ward Berchcr nj fthe ,unutL ,,f